CANADA FX DEBT-C$ holds steady as Friday jobs data in focus

Reuters Staff

3 Min Read

* C$ at C$1.0048 vs US$, or 99.52 U.S. cents
* Survey sees 15,000 new Canadian jobs
* Bond prices rise across curve
* C$ expected to weaken against US$ in year ahead-poll
By Solarina Ho
TORONTO, May 8 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar held steady
against its U.S. counterpart on Wednesday after rallying to its
strongest level since mid-February in the previous session as
traders looked to Friday's domestic employment data to drive
direction.
The currency rallied on Tuesday along with global equity
markets on signals that top central banks would keep supporting
economic growth.
"It's a generally quiet week until Friday. I think Friday,
there's some scope for some volatility in the FX space. But
until then, it's probably going to be range-bound," said Mazen
Issa, macro strategist at TD Securities.
The currency had little reaction to Canadian data that
showed housing starts slipped in April from March. The number of
starts was in line with the median forecast of analysis polled
by Reuters.
The Canadian dollar was at C$1.0048 against the
U.S. dollar, or 99.52 U.S. cents at 9:14 a.m. (1314 GMT), little
changed from Tuesday's finish at C$1.0044 to the U.S. dollar, or
99.56 U.S. cents. It held within a range between C$1.0039 and
C$1.0059.
Canada's dollar was underperforming against most other major
currencies, though it traded at its strongest level against the
New Zealand dollar since mid-March.
New Zealand's central bank confirmed on Wednesday it was
selling its own currency, reflecting concerns that a flood of
global money could undermine a budding economic recovery.
Friday's Canadian employment report is expected to show the
economy added 15,000 jobs in April, while the unemployment rate
held steady at 7.2 percent, according to a Reuters survey of
analysts.
Over the longer term, the Canadian dollar is expected to
weaken against the greenback in the year ahead, according to a
Reuters poll published on Wednesday. Forecasters cited concern
about the economy's slow rate of growth compared to that of the
United States.
Prices for Canadian government bonds were generally higher
across the curve. The two-year bond rose half a
Canadian cent to yield 0.977 percent, while the benchmark
10-year bond edged up 2 Canadian cents to yield
1.822 percent.